Extraordinary Classics Dazzle at Hampton Court

The Hampton Court Concours of Elegance has been a fixture for me over the past few years – due to fortunate timing, this was one of the few events that managed to be held without interruption despite Covid. So despite me having moved further away, I was determined not to miss the 10^th iteration of this high-class event. I set off on what was a bright late summer morning – the weather thankfully stayed favourable all day – in my 911 which I parked on arrival a couple of hours later between a contrasting pair in the shapes of a 1982 Citroen 2CV and a 1992 Ferrari 512TR in the pre-1990 section of the car park, which was actually just about the only disappointing part of the day, with few attendees seemingly driving down in their classics that day.

The Concours hasn’t always taken place at Hampton Court – Windsor Castle has hosted it twice, including the first time in 2012 and again in 2016 (I lived nearby and was lucky enough to attend both) and it has been held at Henry VIII’s palace, built for Anne Boleyn, since 2017, plus a one-off occasion in 2014. In between times it was held at St. James’s Palace in London and the Palace of Holyrood in Edinburgh. All these locations are amongst the grandest in the UK, fitting venues for such spectacular collections of some of the most exclusive classic cars in the world – and that’s not hyperbole.

To mark this 10^th anniversary, some of the winners from previous years had been invited to take part again, which had their own category, effectively the “Best of the Best”. Besides these ten, there were another 50 entered into the main Concours, a 30 Under 30 competition for 30 owners under the age of 30, which I had to miss as I was only able to attend on the Saturday, a Junior Concours for half-sized classics, the Jaguar Trophy, and the Club Trophy for the best car club display – invited clubs were Aston Martin, Ferrari, Jensen, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz on the Saturday. Another highlight of the day was a high-end auction hosted by Gooding and Company

For this piece, I’m going to focus on the Concours and auction cars and will take a look at the dealer and club cars separately.

As always at Hampton Court, there were far too many fabulous cars to mention, even within two articles, so I will of necessity cover only my personal highlights of the day, one which I was delighted to share in part with our International Editor Mr. Bilidt – allegedly there to work – who I hadn’t seen since last year’s Concours, in fact. He had a more eventful journey to the event than I did, something he will no doubt mention when he comes to write about his latest acquisition, a 1965 Sunbeam Tiger.

So where to start? Well, how about with a couple of the previous winners, one of which is in my inexpert view the greatest racing car ever made, the Porsche 917. The 2020 winner, this was no ordinary 917 – if there is such a thing – but the car that won the Stuttgart company it’s first Le Mans victory in 1970 at the hands of Dickie Attwood and Hans Herrmann. What a car this is – low, wide, looks like it’s doing 200 km/h just standing still.

The other is just one of the most extraordinary cars you could imagine – in fact, back in 1938 when it was built, it must have looked like it had just landed from somewhere in the outer reaches of the galaxy. This Hispano-Suiza Dubonnet Xenia won the Concours in 2016, and was designed by Jean Andreau and built by Jacques Sautchick. There isn’t a straight line anywhere on this aero-inspired streamliner, named after drinks heir Andre Dubonnet’s late wife; it’s huge, with a vast bonnet covering an 8-litre in-line six (sic) and sharply curtailed rear. Possibly the most dramatic-looking car at the show, in a field of many.

Almost as flamboyant was the 1938 Delage D8-120 de Villars – they gave cars long names in the ‘thirties! Resplendent in dark blue with silver bonnet and boot, one of the car’s many striking features is the extremely tapered luggage compartment, which when opened reveals a surprisingly small luggage space for such a large car, completely filled by the huge spare wheel. Presumably the owner sent their luggage on ahead. This spectacular and unique car built by de Villars won the Best in Show award, against very stiff competition.

The Concours also celebrated 75 years of Ferrari, and lined up in front of the main wing of the Palace, six fabulous bearers of the Prancing Horse badge, including a magnificent 1963 250GTO in dark blue, regularly seen at Goodwood, and a white 1966 365P Berlinetta Speciale, also known as the Tre Posti dues to its three-seater layout, which I’ve never seen before. This car was once owned – and crashed! – by Eric Clapton – and is one of only two built, quite possibly why I’ve never seen it before. Effectively a test-bed for future mid-engined Ferrari’s – the design clearly influenced the Dino 206/246 GT. I actually think it looks slightly out of proportion compared to the later Dino’s, but that might just be me.

Also in that line of six, the ex-Stirling Moss 1961 250GT SWB with which he won the Tourist Trophy at Goodwood and the Nassau Tourist Trophy, a 1955 750 Monza, a gorgeous 1954 Vignale-bodied, Michelotti-designed 250GT Europa (with intriguing fascia opening just the right size for a bottle of the bubbly stuff), and a 1957 500 TRC, which I have previously seen at both Silverstone and Goodwood – millions of pounds worth of Maranello’s finest.

I had never previously seen an ATS, or Automobili Turismo e Sport, to give it it’s full name, so it was a great delight to see the gorgeous red 1963 2500GT Coupé on show, one of a measly dozen built. The result of a dispute between Enzo Ferrari and and some key members of his team including Giotto Bizzarrini (who later also fell out with Iso – perhaps it was just him. Incidentally, he is still alive, at the grand old age of 96). The front is not dissimilar to a Porsche 904 to my eyes and this low, sleek coupé had both Anders and I drooling – metaphorically, of course!

Two other exquisite sports coupés that were examples of Zagato’s most successful designs were parked alongside one another – a stunning 1956 Maserati A6G Zagato and a 1962 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato that for once was not in metallic green, but in French Racing Blue that suited it beautifully. This particular car competed, albeit unsuccessfully, at Le Mans in 1962, but also finished second in the Dakar 12 hours. The Maserati was one of just 21 built – I’ve only seen one before – and looked superb in deep red in contrast to its neighbour. What a pair these two made!

It’s not often that you see a Packard Twelve in the UK; to see half-a-dozen together was a treat indeed. This group were brought over by owners Jack and Laura Boyd-Smith, and a wonderful sight they were. I’m not very familiar with 1930’s Packards, but these were very impressive – and big – cars indeed, with my favourite being the 1938 Convertible Coupé, which has won multiple prizes at the likes of Pebble Beach and Amelia Island. This was one of only eight left, with a long bonnet and V-shaped windscreen and wearing a coat of deep metallic brown that suited it very well indeed. The 1933 Twelve Coupé on show was one of two survivors of the five built, and the 1934 Twelve Coupé Roadster one of only 20 survivors of 980 built – this was a rare opportunity indeed to see such glorious cars.

Cord is a name I normally associate with the streamlined 810/812 models with their concealed headlamps; the 1930 L-29 Brougham could hardly look more different than the later car – finished in black and burgundy, with a Lalique mascot atop the radiator grille, this Cord had huge presence.

Porsche 356’s are not particularly rare even at lower-key shows, but examples as early as the 1951 Split Window Coupé at Hampton Court are as common as unicorns. This 356 was one of the first 1,000 examples built – 1951 was only the third year of its production – and is so simple, clean, unadorned, almost plain. And yet, it’s a little jewel of a car – one of only 30 Split Windows known to exist, it’s finished in Radium Green and has been painstakingly restored over an eight-year period. It’s not only a small car, it’s powered by a mere 1.3-litre, 44bhp engine, miniscule compared to its younger siblings also participating in the Concours, the pair of 1974 911 Carrera RS 3.0’s in contrasting red and blue.

To finish this piece, let’s take a look at some of the auction cars – Gooding and Company are probably among the most high-end auction houses and while this year there was not quite the same star power as at least year’s event, there were still plenty of superlative – and expensive – lots on offer going under the hammer on Saturday. The star lot in terms of price at least was a stunning 1960 Ferrari SWB Berlinetta Competizione in Giallo Fly – very lovely indeed, that sold for a mere £6.9m plus commissions…

Also of note was the price achieved for a project 1956 Porsche 550 Spyder, which fetched £1.8m against an estimate range of £1.25 – £1.75m, and a superb 1939 Jaguar SS100 found a new owner for £440,000, beating its high estimate of £425,000.

Many of the lots underperformed, however, some by quite a way, such as a decent Maserati Mistral that sold for only £32,000, well short of even the low estimate of £70,000, and a track-ready 1965 Sunbeam Tiger that went for a mere £28,000 against a low estimate of £75,000. Both these were offered without reserve, something I imagine the vendors now regret. This wasn’t the success of the 2021 auction, but nevertheless, there was a tangible sense of theatre especially when the more expensive lots came up – this was not your average sale, but the Hampton Court Concours is very far from average.

The gallery below will show a few more of the most spectacular cars in the Concours and auction; to come – the best of the rest from this outstanding event.

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